EPSG:4326 — WGS 84
The world's most-used geographic CRS — the lat/lon system underlying GPS, KML, GeoJSON and almost every web-mapping API.
PROJ definition
+proj=longlat +datum=WGS84 +no_defs +type=crs
Geographic bounds
W -180° S -90° E 180° N 90°
Convert coordinates with EPSG:4326
Official EPSG transformations for WGS 84
Datum transformations involving EPSG:4326 published in the EPSG dataset, with parameters, accuracy and area of use:
- Abidjan 1987 → WGS 84±2 m
- Accra → WGS 84±6 m
- Aden 1925 → WGS 84
- Adindan → WGS 84±6 m
- Afgooye → WGS 84±44 m
- AGD66 → WGS 84±2 m
- AGD84 → WGS 84±2.9 m
- Ain el Abd → WGS 84±1 m
- Albanian 1987 → WGS 84±1 m
- American Samoa 1962 → WGS 84±5 m
- Amersfoort → WGS 84±1 m
- Ammassalik 1958 → WGS 84±1 m
- Anguilla 1957 → WGS 84±10 m
- Antigua 1943 → WGS 84±10 m
- Aratu → WGS 84±1 m
- Arc 1950 → WGS 84±7 m
- Arc 1960 → WGS 84±6 m
- Ascension Island 1958 → WGS 84±44 m
- Astro DOS 71 → WGS 84±1 m
- ATS77 → WGS 84±1.5 m
- Australian Antarctic → WGS 84±1 m
- Ayabelle Lighthouse → WGS 84±17 m
- Azores Central 1948 → WGS 84±6 m
- Azores Central 1995 → WGS 84±1 m
- Azores Occidental 1939 → WGS 84±5 m
- Azores Oriental 1940 → WGS 84±44 m
- Azores Oriental 1995 → WGS 84±1 m
- Barbados 1938 → WGS 84±3 m
- Batavia → WGS 84±5 m
- Batavia (Jakarta) → WGS 84±6 m
380 more in the transformation directory.
About EPSG:4326
EPSG:4326 is the identifier for WGS 84, the World Geodetic System adopted in 1984 and refined several times since. It defines an ellipsoidal Earth (semi-major axis 6,378,137 m, flattening 1/298.257223563) and a geocentric datum used worldwide for satellite navigation, including GPS. Coordinates are expressed in decimal degrees of latitude and longitude.
Strictly, EPSG:4326's official axis order is latitude, longitude — but in practice GeoJSON, OGC GeoPackage, KML and most web tooling (including this converter and proj4js) follow the more pragmatic longitude-first convention. Always check axis order when ingesting data from authoritative sources such as INSPIRE or older WFS feeds.
WGS 84 is technically a datum ensemble: the realisation has been updated through G730, G873, G1150, G1674, G1762 and G2139, each tightening alignment with ITRF by a few centimetres. For applications below decimetre accuracy, prefer the specific realisation (e.g. EPSG:9755 for WGS 84 (G2139)) or use ITRF directly. For everything else, EPSG:4326 is the correct choice.
Common use cases
- Storing or exchanging GPS positions
- Web maps, GeoJSON files, KML/KMZ exports
- Inputs to almost every GIS tool, before reprojection
- Sharing coordinates between systems with no other agreement
Example coordinates
| Place | X / Lon | Y / Lat |
|---|---|---|
| Eiffel Tower, Paris | 2.2945 | 48.8584 |
| Sydney Opera House | 151.2153 | -33.8568 |
| Statue of Liberty, NYC | -74.0445 | 40.6892 |
Common transformations from EPSG:4326
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:3857WGS 84 → WGS 84 / Pseudo-Mercator
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:3395WGS 84 → WGS 84 / World Mercator
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:4978WGS 84 → WGS 84
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:7789WGS 84 → ITRF2014
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:4267WGS 84 → NAD27
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:4269WGS 84 → NAD83
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:6318WGS 84 → NAD83(2011)
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:4322WGS 84 → WGS 72
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:26910WGS 84 → NAD83 / UTM zone 10N
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:26911WGS 84 → NAD83 / UTM zone 11N
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:26912WGS 84 → NAD83 / UTM zone 12N
- EPSG:4326 → EPSG:26913WGS 84 → NAD83 / UTM zone 13N
Frequently asked questions
- Is EPSG:4326 the same as WGS 84?
- Yes. EPSG:4326 is the geographic 2-D CRS based on the WGS 84 datum, expressing position as latitude and longitude in decimal degrees.
- What axis order does EPSG:4326 use?
- Officially latitude, longitude — but most web standards (GeoJSON, KML, MVT, Mapbox/OSM tooling) and proj4js use longitude, latitude. Validate against the source spec when you read external data.
- How accurate is EPSG:4326?
- WGS 84 realisations agree with ITRF to within a few centimetres, but tectonic-plate motion means absolute positions drift by 2-7 cm/year. For survey-grade work use a time-stamped realisation or a plate-fixed CRS like ETRS89.
- What is the proj4 string for EPSG:4326?
- The proj4 definition for EPSG:4326 is: +proj=longlat +datum=WGS84 +no_defs +type=crs
- Where is EPSG:4326 used?
- EPSG:4326 (WGS 84) is defined for the area: World (by country).